![]() ![]() This orbit is also inherently unstable, meaning that JWST must perform station-keeping, constantly adjusting its velocity by a few meters per second every year. One disadvantage of this orbit is that, since it's a full 930,000 miles (1.5 million km) from Earth - three times the distance from the Earth to the moon - JWST is too distant for repairs like the ones that Hubble experienced. JWST actually orbits the Earth-sun L2 point, spending half an Earth year to complete one loop around the spot. Here, the telescope always lies in the Earth's shadow, giving instruments a clearer read on the cosmos. Specifically, the observatory is stationed at the Earth-sun L2, on the far side of the Earth from the sun. JWST does not orbit the Earth itself, but rather in a point where the gravitational pulls of the Earth and the sun equalize each other, called a Lagrange point. All told, the process took a month, which NASA dubbed " 29 days on the edge." During this time, JWST also trekked out to its posting. Unfolding and unstacking the sunshield's layers is only one aspect of JWST's complicated deployment. The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). Although the agency primarily refers to the observatory as Webb, many astronomers have retained the acronym, even offering alternative telescope titles that result in the same acronym without referencing Webb. In addition, those objecting to the name have argued that before joining NASA, Webb took part in discussions shaping the federal government's "Lavender Scare" effort to drive queer people out of the government, while during his time as administrator the agency fired a budget analyst after lengthy interrogations about alleged "immoral conduct."Ĭurrent NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stood by the name September 2021. The Webb telescope NASA’s vaunted successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, 30 years and nearly 10 billion in the making is equipped to gain access to this realm of cosmic history, study. In them are the oldest galaxies ever seen by human eyes, evidence of water on a. The name breaks with a NASA tradition of naming science missions - Hubble included - after scientists rather than bureaucrats. The James Webb Space Telescope team has released the first science-quality images from the new telescope. However, as the spacecraft has inched toward the launch pad, its name has stirred controversy. The observatory project, originally dubbed the Next Generation Space Telescope, was named for Webb in 2002. Although he is most commonly associated with the Apollo program that sent humans to the moon for the first time just after his tenure ended, Webb also supported the science program at NASA, according to the agency. The James Webb Space Telescope is named for James Webb, who was NASA's second administrator, in office from 1961 until 1968. ![]()
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